


What lies underneath

by khanh



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Shenanigans, Golden Dawn Squad (Black Clover), Missions and Adventures, Multi, The Elf Tribe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 20:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30010266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khanh/pseuds/khanh
Summary: The Golden Dawn care deeply about their Captain but they know nothing about his personal life. It’s not that they’re ignorant. Their Captain just has a bad habit of keeping everything under wraps.It takes a corrupted knight, a mission in a foreign land and a child to comprehend the man named William Vangeance.
Relationships: Patri/William Vangeance, William Vangeance & The Golden Dawn, Yuno & Langris & Alecdora
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	What lies underneath

**Author's Note:**

> AU where everyone lives and they live in the same timeline. Red Wedding didn’t happen. Lumiere is the king and Julius is the Wizard King so no tragic drama \o/
> 
> Mostly focus on Golden Dawn and their missions. I’ll try to balance everyone’s screen time. My favorite William-content is the Golden Dawn burst with anxiety every time they learn something new about him.
> 
> Patri/William isn't a background relationship. They’ll be catalysts for several events and relevant throughout the story, but the centerpiece is William and Golden Dawn bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gris is a Golden Dawn’s fire mage that appears in the light novel.

_Dear Diary, is Captain into foursome?_

Dinners at the Golden Dawn are usually quiet, only soft chitchat shared between small groups. Yuno was taken aback by this at first. He grew up in a church where everyone gathers around a big table enjoying meals together. All of his siblings, especially Asta, are pretty loud. He didn’t know if this was the squad’s normal etiquette or they were trying to shun him out. After all, he was a black sheep - a peasant within a group of nobles. Many of them openly expressed their dissatisfaction toward his presence. In the first week at the Golden Dawn Yuno talked to no one except their Captain, William Vangeance.

Yuno could feel Captain Vangeance was very fond of him and said fondness wasn’t just because he owned a four-leaf grimoire. After the entrance exam William personally welcomed him to the squad, took him on a tour and even asked about people in Hage. Unlike the other members William seemed to understand the life of a peasant, but Yuno guessed it was because he’d traveled many places and knew the country well - he’s Captain of the best squad after all.

Yuno didn’t take the hostile of his comrades too seriously. To be fair, they were much more tolerable than the noisy commoners sometimes picking on the folks in Hage. Nobles look down on commoners and commoners look down on peasants. It’s the most unsettling problem in Clover Kingdom and Yuno wished to change it. He was fine even if he had to work alone as long as he could strive for his goal.

It was Mimosa who warmed up to Yuno first, then Klaus tagged along because Klaus was in charge for both of them. Later David befriended him because David likes making new friends and Letoile joined because she always had to keep David in line.

Slowly, Yuno realized the Golden Dawn was just a bunch of over-serious knights. It took him a few missions to understand not every knight joined the Order with a mighty goal: some want money, some want fame, and many want to get closer to the high-nobles. There were bad consequences like corrupted soldiers turned their powers against the citizens they supposed to protect or the tragic incident with the first peasant knight: Zara Ideale. The knowledge left a bad taste in his mouth and he was glad neither was the case with the Golden Dawn. They weren’t friendly toward peasants, sure, but they always took their job with earnest. The squad train every day for both personal power and coordinating teamwork. To them, being praised for talent is an insult for dismissing their hard-working.

Within a year they all acknowledged Yuno’s diligence and he also made his way to be a senior knight.

Yes Golden Dawn’s dinners are usually quiet but Yuno doesn’t dislike it. It’s a part of his squad, his second family. Though most of his comrades aren’t expressive, he knows they all care a lot for each other.

Today's dinner, however, is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Siren Tium – who’s having a three-day break and isn’t supposed to come back until the day after tomorrow.

“Siren,” Hamon cheers, “I thought you won’t be here until Monday.”

Siren smiles weakly and grabs a cup of wine. Yuno notices how everyone stops eating and turns to Siren - even Langris - to show their concerns.

“I want to come back early. It became a bit too much.”

“Matchmaking again? That’s rough,” Alecdora offers a bowl of soup and pats Siren’s shoulder, “Here, have this first.”

Matchmaking?

Yuno hums, the idea of matchmaking sounds so foreign to him. People in Hage don’t have matchmaking parties, just blind dates within a small group of friends. ‘Party’ in his hometown is gathering around a campfire, singing and dancing all night long but he doubts it’s the same with the noblemen. By his sides, Mimosa whispers ‘Oh my’ and Klaus swallows hard; they clearly aren’t into the idea of matchmaking either.

“Klaus?”

“Yes, Yuno? Oh,” Klaus adjusts his glasses and explains, “That’s how most noblemen find a spouse. There’re special cases though - like Vice-Captain Langris, who had a fiancée chosen for him before he was born - but we usually do matchmaking party. Once in a while, a household will host a party and send invitations to other households in the land or even the neighboring town. You know, to know each other and deepen the bond, maybe gain financial and other benefits. And since we’re Magic Knight, we are… really welcomed.”

The way Siren pales obviously suggests they over-welcomed him to the point he decided to return one day early.

“Is Captain here?” Siren pulls a stack of letters out of his book pouch, “I need to deliver these to him.”

“He’s having a Captain meeting and will be back in an hour or two. What’s it?”

“Recommendation letters from several houses in my hometown. Apparently, they want to know if Captain Vangeance is interested in anyone.”

“You got that too?” Gris groans, “The same thing happened to me when I came back home last year.”

“Me three.” Hamon nods, “They even wanted to know his hobbies and if he had the intention to become the next Wizard King.”

That piques Yuno’s curiosity. Although William Vangeance is said to be the next Wizard King, Yuno never sees him express any interest in said position.

“Does Captain Vangeance read the letters?”

“Yes. He replies one by one,” answers Alecdora, “Turning them all down.”

“Ehh, really?”

“I never thought about Captain dating before. He doesn’t seem to be into that kind of relationship.”

“But if you look at it… Every Captain is single, which I’d say is the greatest mystery of the Kingdom.”

“I wonder what his type is. I mean… we all know he likes songbirds… and that’s it.”

“Yeah, I even thought he’d stay single forever. Dedicated himself to work, like Captain Roselei.”

“But he doesn’t hate it either? Like he’s still nice with those approaching him, whereas Captain Roselei… You guys saw what happened to her suitors.”

“Alecdora, Langris… Is our Captain seeing anyone?”

Alecdora and Langris aren’t just William’s personal aide and Vice-Captain respectively, they’re two of the first generation of the Golden Dawn, joining the squad right after it was founded. In comparison to other members, they’re the closest to their Captain.

Both of them shake their heads and the rest start to discuss what kind of person William would be into. This is one of the noisiest dinners Golden Dawn ever had. The last time they were this loud was when they received gifts from William for Three-Leaf Day.

“How about you, Yuno?” David turns to Yuno, “You’re also close to him. Have you seen him taken interest in anyone?”

At that, Yuno - who’s been sitting quietly the whole conversation - receives irritating glares from both Alecdora and Langris. Letoile nudges David and the dice mage realizes in horror he just accidentally started a civil war. Every Golden Dawn knows the trio has a hidden rivalry to see who is Captain’s favorite.

“I…” Yuno is about to say ‘no’ but a scene he witnessed one night long ago overflows his mind. Unconsciously, he clenches his jaw.

“You know something.” Langris sneers, seeing through him.

“What did you see?!” Alecdora slams his fist into the table, “What do you know that we don’t know?”

If there were only three of them, maybe Yuno would do what he always does: politely excuse himself, say something like “it was Captain’s business” and walk away. But right now every single one of his squadmates is staring at him. There’s also Klaus and Mimosa’s accusing look: _‘You’re hiding things from us? I thought we’re family'_ and it’s making his will quiver.

Yuno sighs, defeated. “I believe I saw something.”

“Spill the beans, Yuno!”

“About two months ago Asta and I both had a day-off and we thought it’d be a good opportunity to settle down our rivalry. We chose a forest in the Forsaken Realm. During our break, Asta noticed a strange ‘ki’ so we looked around. Then we spotted Captain Vangeance. He was running with his hands like this.”

Yuno makes the gesture of hugging someone and everyone gasp. No one has ever seen William runs.

‘Running’ is an exaggerating word, Yuno thinks for himself. William’s movement was in fact as elegant as ever, but he could sense a little rush in the man’s footsteps as if he was _impatient_.

“I saw it too! His mana is _singing_.” Bell pops out of Yuno’s grimoire and points at Hamon, “He’s happier than you when you talk to the girl at the bakery downtown.”

Hamon squeaks at the mention of his crush.

It was a bizarre experience for Yuno. Someone else was definitely there. He saw soft glows illuminated behind the trees and a cloak flying as Captain flung himself into them, but that person’s mana was so subtle he wouldn’t have noticed them without Asta’s ki sensing.

“That person and your Captain, their ki seem to… resonate,” said Asta.

“Please tell me you follow them to know who they are.”

“We did,” Yuno blushes, embarrassed to admit that he stalked his own Captain. It was very out of character of him but he’s indeed curious about who can make William Vangeance lose his composure. “We followed them and found a house deep in the forest. We didn’t want to come too close in case they’d recognized us, so we waited in a bush until dawn…”

The incident actually encouraged Yuno to train his mana sensing harder. He felt several mana wavelengths in the house but he couldn’t tell how many for sure. Asta’s ki sensing couldn’t either, which led them to the same conclusion.

Inside the house were very powerful mages.

“…When the sun rose two people walked out of the house.”

The Golden Dawn holds their breath.

“…They were King Lumiere and Lord Julius.”

The curiosity on their faces is replaced with shock.

“Are you saying our Captain was in the middle of the forest all night with the two Kings?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

Half of the squad reach for their drinks, having a hard time digesting this piece of information.

“The strange ki Asta sensed, was it from one of them?” As always, Klaus’s the one who notices the keywords, “You both stood very close to them at the Star Award Festival.”

“Maybe,” replies Yuno, “We’ve never seen them in action. Asta wasn’t sure, but the stranger’s and King Lumiere’s mana wavelengths felt alike to me.”

“Yeah! And there’s one more person,” Bell interferes, “Captain Yami from the Black Bulls.”

“That’s like… a really wide range to interpret,” comments David, “They could’ve had a poker night to having a fourso-“

Letoile knocks him down before he can finish the word.

“To be fair…” Gris says weakly, “They are all single and handsome.”

Siren chokes and Mimosa looks like he’s going to faint.

“What nonsense are you saying?!” Alecdora grumbles, “I bet they were on some top-class mission!”

The other nods and voices their agreements but deep down everyone knows it could hardly be the case. If a mission required two captains, the king and the Wizard King, the whole Magic Knight Order would already be on alert.

“It must be so rough that Captain of the Black Bulls came out of the house naked and Lord Julius only had his underwear on!”

Yuno regrets he didn’t stop Bell in time. Everyone stares at him again, horror fills up their eyes.

“Yuno..?” Mimosa mutters, pleading for a denial.

“…Yes,” Yuno breaks her hope as he covers Bell’s mouth, “Captain Yami was naked and Lord Julius only had his underwear on.”

Yuno remembered the moment Captain Yami stomped his way out of the house, bathed himself in the glorious sunlight, Asta looked like he was about to have a stroke, just like his comrades right now.

Then Captain Vangeance followed right behind. He didn't wear his robe and his cloak but the uniform was still neat. _Luckily_. Yuno had never felt so relieved before.

If the story was told by someone else, the Golden Dawn would immediately call them a liar or laugh it off. But this is Yuno. Yuno never lies.

They remain speechless, some even forget to breathe. The idea of their Captain may somehow involve with Yami Sukehiro of all people is too horrid to even imagine.

“Gentlemen, ladies,” Langris stands up, holding his plate, “I think that’s enough for today. Lunettes, don’t forget it’s your team’s turn to clean the dishes. See you all tomorrow.”

Langris’s voice is firm but Yuno notices he hasn’t had his cherry tart like he usually does yet.

An hour late William returns. He requests a sudden meeting that requires the whole squad.

* * *

The Golden Dawn gathers in the main hall, behind William is a giant map of Clover Kingdom with all the villages marked carefully. He pointed to the villages with an x and explains about a group of bandits that has been stealing harvest and ancient artifacts from the Common and Forsaken Realm. Within three months they’ve attacked nineteen villages. Their leader is reported to possess a dangerous magical tool and the Golden Dawn is required to take action immediately.

“We have reasons to believe the bandit will attack one of these two villages soon.” William highlights two places on the map, “We’re leaving tomorrow morning. Blend in with the citizens, don’t let anyone know that you’re Magic Knights.

We’ll split in halves like that time against Diamond Kingdom. Team 1 has Langris, Yuno, Klaus, Mimosa, Letoile, David, Gris and Emily. Langris, you’re in charge. You guys will wait right here. The rest will go with me here. Do not act recklessly. If any of you notices anything suspicious, inform the rest immediately. I repeat, do not act on your own! The magical tool in their hands may be extremely dangerous.

Does anyone has a question?”

Someone asks about the number of bandits and the magical tools they’re going up against. The next morning, every member of Golden Dawn head toward the Common Realm.

* * *

The squad split up and blend in with the town folks. By day, they pretend to be passengers and merchants, dividing into smaller groups to learn the ways, keep track of the warehouses and the surrounding areas and report back to William every two hours. Everyone is on high alert, but the first week goes by quietly for both villages. There wasn’t a single criminal act let alone signs of the bandits. It’s so quiet like the calmness before the storm.

When Yuno doesn’t have to patrol, he spends time studying the reports about the villages that were attacked. The date and casualties are listed carefully: the amount of harvest taken, the houses got burned down, the people got injured,… There’s one artifact being taken just three days after it was found in a local mine. Yuno cross-checked the data but he can’t figure the bandits’ pattern. Lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t notice Klaus poking at him.

“Relax, Yuno. You look like you’re about to jump someone.”

“Yeah, it’s dinner time!” Mimosa offers a drink, “You’ve been staring at the papers for days.”

The three choose an inn they haven’t tried yet. While waiting for their plates, they catch a conversation from the table next to them.

“I heard that Linemell was attacked by bandits last month. All of their crops are stolen.”

“Really? Is it a village in the Forsaken Realm?”

“Yeah, and they attacked Harnsey, but Harnsey is in the Common Realm.”

“That’s too dangerous! I wonder if the Magic Knights will take action.”

“My sister from Llyn sent a letter saying the Crimson Lion came to their town last week in case the bandits be there.”

“Eh? Why none come to our town yet?”

“Who knows? Maybe they’re coming. I believe the chief sent a letter to the Capital yesterday.”

“Seems like the news got here,” Klaus whispers.

“Captain Vangeance must have asked for help from the other squads,” concerns Mimosa, “They may be stronger than we thought.”

“And all of us are in the field. Can a group of bandits be more dangerous than an army of Diamond Kingdom?”

That clicks something in Yuno. He opens a map and looks for the villages mentioned by the town folks. A daring thought slowly shapes itself.

“What’s wrong, Yuno?”

“I’m not sure. There’s something I need to confirm.” Yuno quickly finishes his portion.

“What do you mean?”

“You guys get back to our place first. I’ll be there in an hour.”

And Yuno flies away. He tracks Gris and asks for a shift change, then he heads toward a hill on the northern side of the town. Every night two people from Team 1 will spend a night there to watch over the whole area.

“I believe tonight is my and Gris’s turn. What do you want?”

Yuno finds Langris standing on a tree. The wind messes with his wavy hair, making his smile more childish and innocent.

“I want to have a private conversation with you, Vice-Captain Langris. Is this mission really just about capturing the bandits?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s more than that, isn’t it? What does Captain really want?”

“Bold of you for questioning for your superior.” Langris smirks and jumps off the tree, “May I know the reason for this insolent behavior?”

“The bandits managed to strike nineteen times within three months. There wasn’t any pattern, but Captain Vangeance said: _We have reasons to believe the bandit will attack one of these two villages soon._ How can he be so sure? Maybe we have a spy, but I just caught the town folks talking about Crimson Lion coming to a neighboring town.”

“…”

“If there’s a spy we wouldn’t have to stay undercover for this long or needed assistance from another squad. What we’re doing, I believe, is making this village looks vulnerable and turns into a potential target.”

“…”

“But how will the bandits know about that? They can pretend to be merchants like us and know which towns are protected by Magic Knights, but they can’t know which towns we’re coming to. Were they lucky in their previous strike? Or is it something else? Something made Captain believe they’ll be here nonetheless.”

“And your point is?”

“There’s a mole among the Magic Knight Order,” Yuno concludes, “This whole mission is a trap to lure them out.”

Langris doesn’t say a word, but his grin is already the perfect answer. Silence descends upon them until Langris raises his hands up in surrender.

“Not bad, prince charming. But I _love_ to say I have to let you down. Captain Vangeance didn’t say anything to me. I don’t know a thing either.”

He takes a map of Clover Kingdom out of his pouch and spreads it on the ground. Yuno notices several towns and villages are circled and connected.

“Come, let’s analyze a bit.”

Since the day Yuno was promoted as the strongest rookies alongside Asta, he’s been having a passive-aggressive relationship with Alecdora and Langris. Personally, Yuno doesn’t vibe with any of them; but on the professional side, he looks up to Alecdora’s intuition and Langris’s sharpness. He’s seen them on battlefields. They aren’t Captain left and right hand for nothing.

If anyone can perceive the hidden meaning of a complex puzzle, it’s Langris. His destructive power isn’t the only thing that makes him the Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn.

“We know the bandits attacked nineteen villages in the last three months. They won’t come to the Noble Realm - where have the most of us. Minus the villages they attacked and those that are close, there’re thirteen villages left, as you can see here. You heard which squad coming where again?”

“Crimson Lion, Llyn.”

“Okay,” Langris writes ‘Crimson Lion’ on Llyn and points at another two towns, “Two days ago, I heard that the Silver Eagles are coming here and here. Minus ours, there’re eight villages left. Now, hypothetically what you say is true, how can you sort out the mole? Or moles? There’re nine squads and hundreds of us.”

Yuno can’t answer, it’s a problem he’s yet to solve. Langris doesn’t wait for his reply.

“Let me give you a hint. I believe you memorize the report by now. There’s an artifact that was found in a mine and put in the village’s chief’s house as their holy item. But it was taken by the bandits three days later. How did they know about that?

Do you know what rank of Magic Knight can have that information within three days?”

“…” Yuno’s blood runs cold.

“That’s right. They must at least be a 2nd Senior Magic Knight. Or worse, a Vice-Captain, or a Captain.

“…”

“But of course, don’t take this too seriously. Maybe one villager joined the bandits. Maybe one low-rank knight got their hand on the report. The more people participate in this mission, the more chances the mole has to clean the evidence.”

“…”

“Eight villages left. I’ve yet to confirm, but what if each squad is in charge of one? What if there are only a few selected squads? The possibilities are endless. “

The more Langris says, the more thrilling his mana becomes. Then suddenly the excitement goes down.

“Just like you, Yuno, I also want to know Captain Vangeance’s real goal. His immense power isn’t the most dangerous thing about him,” Langris smiles faintly, his eyes go hazy like he’s recalling a personal experience. “We’re lacking information so I can’t tell which possibility we should raise the stake. So stay alert, and prepare yourself for the worst scenario.”

“What is the worst scenario?”

“One of us is the mole and this is merely a loyal test.” Langris’s smile turns sadistic, “In that case, I’ll take _you_ or them down by myself.”

The idea of doubting a comrade disturbs Yuno. As he's about to reply he senses a large amount of manas approaching. Above them, a group of about fifty bandits is riding brooms toward the village’s warehouses. Yuno reaches for his communication device but the signal doesn’t connect.

“Mine doesn’t work too,” Langris clicks his tongue, “They must have a magical tool that can mess with the signal.”

“I’ll go get the others,” Yuno’s ready to take off.

“Vice-Captain Langris! Yuno!”

“We’re here!”

Their comrades descend next to them, leaves and branches stuck in their hair.

“I swear we didn’t hear anything!” cries David, “We’re just worried that you two might get into a fight."

“How considerate,” Langris retorts.

“What should we do? Captain Vangeance forbids us to act alone.”

“But we cannot let them steal or hurt the people either.”

Yuno opens his grimoire and gives Langris a look that says: No matter what you say, I’m going.

Langris’s lips curl into a cold-blood smirk. “Let show them what we have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: _Dear Diary, we're today year-old knowing Captain is married._
> 
> aka William's secret is exposed. I want to write about him but not from his pov and focus more on people around him. Does that make sense? \o/
> 
> If you watch the anime and read the light novel, you may realize the materials that inspired this chapter. If you're a manga-only, the other materials are:
> 
> Anime: Episode 85+86 - Yami and William’s first and last mission together back in Grey Deer days. They fought against a group of bandits.
> 
> Light Novel: Book of Yuno - Chapter 2 (Julius’s secret cabin in the wood). You can read the light novel at Tumblr: blackcloverdatabase. For what happened here, they just had a poker night and Yami and Julius lost badly. Patri came for William and Tetia came for Lumiere, then Rhya picked them up in the morning. No one dies, everyone is happy.


End file.
